India Coffee House plans revival, may tap private sector retailers
iconic India Coffee House (ICH), an eight decade-old coffee chain run by the Coffee Board of India, is looking at bringing on board private sector food and beverage retailers as master franchisees to revive operations and expand its footprint.
The coffee chain, with a presence in upscale areas like Chittaranjan Avenue in Kolkata and Parliament Street in New Delhi, once counted among its regulars intellectuals such as Satyajit Ray, Amartya Sen and a young Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. This was in ICH’s heyday.
However, over the past four decades, the chain has become a shadow of its former self. There are now about a dozen ICH outlets, said a pre-bid consultation and request-for-information document sent to coffee
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retailers and marketers to attend a meeting held on January 31. Close to 120 company representatives attended the meeting which included retailers Café Coffee Day and Hindustan Unilever Ltd, the maker of Bru coffee and Lipton tea, said a person aware of the development.
“As a policy, we do not comment on market speculation,” said an HUL spokesperson. Café Coffee Day did not respond to Mint’s emails for comment.
In its document, the Coffee Board has laid out its role and plans for opening 75 franchise branches over the next three years. The Coffee Board will identify and get locations at low rentals in high footfall areas such as public institutions and private sector establishments across India. There will be two formats — air-conditioned and non airconditioned — and, depending on the type the licensing fees, security deposit and interiors would differ.